Such balloon storage systems have conventionally been used to give entertainments, but the prior art systems are of a relatively small scale and store a large number of balloons having various different colors only for flying off them into the air, and their structures are simple.
At present, however, a balloon storage system of a large scale is required, and it is also required that rather than storing of balloons in order to merely fly off them as in the prior art, balloons of various different colors are once moored in a stationary condition to describe letters, figures, designs, pictures or the like, so that such stationary patterns may be enjoyed by viewers, and thereafter, the storage is opened to fly off the balloons therein to the outside.
FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate one example of the prior art balloon storage system formed to meet the above demands.
This prior art example is designed to form a stationary pattern along a side wall face of a building. One example of such stationary pattern describes large X and small M A S.
The prior art system is constituted of a combination of a large number of storage units 1, 1 - - - . Each storage unit 1 is formed by double folding a single net 2, locking the overlapped end edges to form a storage 3, and packing a large number of balloons 4, 4 - - - of predetermined colors into the storage 3. The illustrated prior art example has a storage unit 1 formed into an elongated configuration. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, an oblong net 2 is double folded so that its longer end edges 2a, 2a may be mated, and a lacing 5 is passed through meshes at ends of the overlapped longer and shorter end edges 2a, 2a and 2b, 2b, as shown in FIG. 4 to lock them, thereby providing a storage 3. A large number of inflated balloons 4, 4 - - - are packed into the storage 3 to expand the storage 3 itself into a cylinder form. The large number of storage units 1, 1 - - - containing the balloons 4 of individual colors are moored on a side wall face or the like of a building in such a manner to describe a stationary pattern of X and M A S, thus providing this pattern for a visual enjoyment.
When the balloons 4 in the storage 3 are then to be released, the lacing 5 is drawn from one end and away out of the meshes at a timing of release in the entertainment to unlock the longer and shorter end edges 2a and 2b of the net 2 and thus, the storage 3 is opened to release the balloons 4, 4 - - - therein with their ascending forces.
FIGS. 5 to 8 illustrate another example of the prior art balloon storage system formed to meet the above-described demands.
This example is intended to form a stationary pattern along a side wall face of a building, and one example of such stationary pattern is comprised of a red letter of A, a yellow letter of B and a blue letter of C described on an oblong (long from side to side) white substrate.
In Figures, the reference character 6 is a lower net having a size corresponding to that of the oblong white substrate, with meshes of the lower net 6 being formed smaller than the diameter of the balloon 4. As shown in FIG. 5, a draft for profiles of three letters A, B and C has been previously drawn on the lower net 1 with a coating. Four upper nets 7 and 7a as shown in FIG. 7 are attached on the surface of the lower net 1 to form multiple net bag-like divided storages 8, 8 - - - which each contain a large number of balloons 4, 4 - - - between the upper and lower nets, as shown in FIG. 8.
Further, each of the four upper nets 7 and 7a has meshes smaller than the balloon 4 and is of a shape such as that the lower net 6 is cut widthwise, wherein the two upper nets 7a and 7a at left and right opposite ends are of the same shape, while the two upper intermediate nets 7 and 7 are of the same shape. The upper intermediate nets 7 have a width two times the width of the upper end nets 7a. These upper nets 7, 7a are previously secured to the lower nets 6 at their portions of a longitudinal side ad, a center line fi, a center line lo and a longitudinal side rs as shown in sequence from the left to the right in FIG. 6. Such securing of the upper nets 7, 7a to the upper net 6 may be performed, for example, by passing a fixing rope 9 through meshes of the both nets 6, 7 and 7a. It should be noted that the respective sides ab to ts of the upper nets 7, 7a other than the secured portions serve as openable locations or portions and are releasably locked to the lower net 1 by a lacing 5. Further, those portions of the upper nets 7, 7a which correspond to the profiles of three letters A, B and C already drawn on the lower net 6 are releasably locked to the lower net 6 by the lacing 5 to serve as openable locations. Such locking of the upper nets 7, 7a to the lower net 6 by the lacing 5 is performed in sequence from uppermost one to lowermost one of the openable locations. Packing of balloons 4 into the storage 8 is carried out by making an advance of locking of the upper nets 7, 7a to the lower net 6 by the lacing 5, while at the same time filling the balloons 4 of various colors with helium gas for inflation at the stage of the storage 8 opened at its lower portion being formed, binding and closing the openings and then placing the balloons into the storage from the below. Such packing of the balloons 4 and such locking by the lacing 5 are conducted while moving the whole of the lower and upper nets 6, 7 and 7a upwardly along a side wall face of a building. By conducting these operations down to the respective lowermost sides dc, jh, pn and ts of the upper nets 7, 7a, assembling of a balloon storage system is completed.
This results in a completed balloon storage system presenting a stationary pattern comprised of a red letter of A, a yellow letter of B and a blue letter of C formed on a white substrate by the large number of balloons 4, 4 - - - , which pattern is provided for a visual enjoyment.
At a proper timing of releasing off the balloons 4 into the air in an entertainment, the individual lacings 5 are drawn out to unlock the upper nets 7, 7a from the lower net 6, thereby opening the individual storages 8. This causes the balloons 4, 4 - - - in the storages to be released off to the outside.
In the prior art example shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, however, the lacing 5 is sequentially passed through the meshes at the ends of the longer and shorter end edges 2a and 2b of the net 2 to lock the end edges 2a and 2b in order to form the storage 3. Therefore, the following problem is encountered: In releasing off the balloons 4, a very large force is required to draw the lacing 5 out of the individual meshes, and a failure of drawing may occur in some cases to result in no balloons released off.
In addition, in the prior art example shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the locking of the openable portions of the upper nets 7, 7a to the lower net 6 is performed by sequentially passing, for example, a lacing 5 thicker than the yarns of the nets 6, 7 and 7a as shown in FIG. 8 through the meshes of the nets 6, 7 and 7a. Therefore, this prior art example is accompanied by the following problem: To release the locking provided by the lacing 5, the latter must be drawn out of the meshes, and a very large force is required for such drawing. Also, in some cases, a failure of drawing may occur to result in no balloons 4 released off.
Such problems arise by the following reasons: a large ascending force provided by the balloons 4, 4 - - - contained in each of the storages 3, 8 acts on the individual nets 2, 6, 7 and 7a forming the storages 3, 8. At the portions locked by the lacing 5, this ascending force acts as a force of drawing the adjacent meshes locked by the lacing 5 away from each other and hence, the frictional force between the lacings 5 and the feet of the nets 2, 6, 7 and 7a is extremely large, resulting in a large force required to draw out the lacings 5 against the frictional force during unlocking. Particularly, if the portions locked by the lacings 5 is bent at an acute angle or curved rather than being rectilinear, a force required for drawing the lacings 5 is further larger and as a result, the drawing may be impossible to fail the releasing off the balloons 4 in some case. In addition, the lacing 5 must be increased in diameter so as to withstand a larger drawing force.
Therefore, it is not possible to provide a free adjustment, for example, for synchronizing or staggering the timings of releasing, into the air, the balloons in the different portions of the stationary pattern presented by the balloon storage system. The stationary pattern may be limited to those of a combination of straight lines and hence, it is impossible to make a stationary pattern having an unrestricted shape.
Additionally, in the prior art example, to pack the balloons 4 into each of the storages 3, 8 in assembling the entire system, the openings are bound and closed and then, the balloons are packed after they have been filled with helium gas and inflated into a size larger than the meshes of the nets 2, 6, 7 and 7a. For this reason, while the openable portions of the storage 3, 8 are being locked by the lacing 5, the balloons 2 of a predetermined color must be packed into the storage 3, 8 opened at its lower portion. In this manner, in the prior art example, the locking of the storage by the lacing 5 and the packing of the balloons 4 into the storage 3, 8 must be concurrently conducted, attendant with the following problems: Many labors as well as a long time are required for the assembling operation and hence, it is impossible to produce a large scale system. Particularly, the locking operation using the lacing 5 must be conducted on the site where an entertainment is given, and there is a fear that a stationary pattern different from a desired pattern may be produced due to mistaking of the locked portions. A further problem is as follows: If the wind is blowing, the nets 2, 6, 7 and 7a are swayed, resulting in a degraded workability, wherein the balloons may fly away or burst. In order to overcome these disadvantages, if an attempt is made to conduct the locking by the lacing 5 and the packing of the balloons 4 into the storage 3, 8 in a flatland and to place the completed entire system onto a side wall face of a building, the following problems are encountered: A large space is required to transport an entire large system packed with balloons 4 to the site, and if the wind is blowing, the transporting may be impossible in some cases. In addition, a large-scaled hanging apparatus is required for hanging up a large-sized system along a wall face of a building, leading to an increase in cost.